Please submit only technical tips that will help other TidBITS readers better use their Macs, iPhones, iPads, and related software and hardware. All product announcements should be sent to releases@tidbits.com.

Tip title*

Your tip*

URL

Enter the URL to a Web page that supports your tip.

Linked text

Enter the name of the page linked above.

Your name*

Your email*

* indicates required fields

To help us avoid automated posts and spam, please enter the words below.

When you submit a tip, you give us permission to use it. Read our terms for more details. All submissions are reviewed before publication.

Our terms: By submitting a tip, you agree to assign TidBITS Publishing Inc., a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual license to reproduce, publish, and distribute your tip in connection with the TidBITS Web site and associated products in any media. You agree that you created the content you submitted, and that you have the right to assign us this license. You give us permission to use your name, but your email address won't be publicly displayed or shared. We review all submissions before publication, and reserve the right to select which submissions we feel are appropriate for our readers and to edit those we publish.

Our terms: We reserve the right to edit or delete any comment, so please post thoughtfully. We use your email address only to send you a one-time verification message confirming that you posted this comment. We also store your address to allow you to verify using other Web browsers in the future. For more info, see our privacy policy.

Wake On Demand in Snow Leopard

Putting your Mac to sleep saves power, but it also disrupts using your Mac as a file server, among other purposes. Wake on Demand in Snow Leopard works in conjunction with an Apple base station to continue announcing Bonjour services that the sleeping computer offers.

While the requirements for this feature are complex, eligible users can toggle this feature in the Energy Saver preference pane. It's labeled Wake on Network Access for computers that can be roused either via Wi-Fi or Ethernet; Wake on Ethernet Network Access or Wake on AirPort Network Access for wired- or wireless-only machines, respectively. Uncheck the box to disable this feature.

Obnoxious QuickTime Licensing Policies

On the heels of releasing QuickTime 3.0 (see the MailBIT "Apple Ships QuickTime 3.0" in TidBITS 422), Apple has without warning unveiled new licensing policies for shipping QuickTime with Macintosh or Windows 95/NT products. Developers were able to ship QuickTime 2.x with products free of charge. However, to ship software with QuickTime 3.0, developers must pay Apple $1 for every copy of the product sold. Apple will waive this fee if programs play the "Get QuickTime Pro" movie when their product installs and copy that movie to the desktop every time their product launches (unless it's already there or QuickTime Pro is installed). This policy has been dubbed "desktop spamming" and sets an alarming precedent, since it produces end-user animosity, opportunities for malicious Trojan Horses, and technical support burdens. To ship QuickTime 3 Pro, developers must pay $2 per copy.

At the same time - and also without warning - Apple has discontinued licensing for QuickTime 2.x, the most recent version that functions with Windows 3.1. Developers planning to ship QuickTime products for Windows 3.1 - still an important market - are now rapidly looking for alternatives. Further, since there is no QuickTime 3-compatible Director Xtra for QuickTime VR, terminating QuickTime 2.x licensing hamstrings products using QuickTime VR with Macromedia Director - developers can't make products that use QuickTime 3.0 and can't ship products built with QuickTime 2.x.

Bushel is a simple tool that allows you to manage Apple devices.
Use device inventory, app distribution, security settings, and
more on many devices at once, using an intuitive Web portal.
Manage 3 devices for free, forever. Try it! <http://www.bushel.com/>